Force feed lubricator



p 1950 c. F. ERIKSON 2,523,653

' FORCE FEED LUBRICA'I'OR Filed Oct. 22, 1947' Q1 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 mim- HIIIIIIIIIII INVEN TOR:

25 27 L26 b5 63 CARLEERIKSON Wmih/m A'r'ro ENE! c. F. EREKSON FORCE FEED LUBRICATOR Spt. 26, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 22, 194'! 0 3% N u 2 .11 R 0 m E a \k 5. .m lmmmm\ m M A 3 Sheets- -Sheea 3 INVEN TOR W M i mmmigw 2 F, mmmwm w 7 1 Sept. 26, 1950 c. F. ERIKSON FORCE FEED LUBRICATOR Filed Oct. 22, 1947 talning the essential parts Patented Sept. 26, 1950 FORCE FEED LUBRICATOR Carl F. Erikson, White Plains, N. Y., assignor to Nathan Manufacturing Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New'York Application October 22, 1947, SerialNo. 781,316

This invention refers to lubricators of the force feed type or the like.

A principal object of the invention is to provide a simple mechanism within the housing of the lubricator for actuating a. single plunger to discharge a lubricant consecutively from outlets in the housing.

Another object is'to impart to the plunger a relatively slow suction stroke and a relatively fast discharge stroke. I

A further object is to adjust the discharge from the outlets by providing meanslto combine one or more discharges from the outlets into one outlet without changing the amount of reciprocation of the plunger.

A still further object is to provide means whereby the lubricator drive can be operated in either direction. I

' Still another object is to provide in a lubricator of this kind simple and eflicient non-return valves in cooperation'with a rotating block conating mechanism.

Further objects will become apparent in the following specification illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which a preferred embodi ment of the invention is shown.

' :In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a horizontal vsectional view through the base of a lubricator of the force feed type; ,Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view along the plane'of line 2'2 inFig. 1;

-:Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view along the plane of line 33 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a'fragmenta'ry sectional view, drawn ina larger scale, of one ofthe outlets from the lubricator showing a non-return valve;

Fig. 5 is'a fragmentary sectional view of the non-return valve when in register with the oil discharge mechanism in the lubricator;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view similar .to Fig. l but drawn in a larger scale, with the plunger oi the discharge mechanism at the conclusion of the suction stroke;

" Fig. 10 is a' developed vertical sectional view 9 Claims. (Cl. 184-33) z along the plane of line |0-|0 in Fig. 9, partly in elevation;

Fig. 11 is a sectional view of a closed by-pass between adjacent outlets;

Fig. 12 is a sectional view of an open by-pass between adjacent outlets; and

Fig. 13 is a perspective View of a support for the actuating cam of the discharge mechanism.

Like, characters of reference denote similar parts throughout the drawings andthe following specification.

is a lubricator housing of substantially cylindrical shape having an upper portion 2 I adapted to receive an oil reservoir casing 22 provided of the plunger actuwith a filling cover 23, the casing being attached to the housing 20 by means of screws 24. A base portion 25 of the housing is adapted to receive a base plate 26, held within the base by asnapring 21.,

28 is a gear pinned to a rotating circular block 29 within the base 25. The block 29 is confined at its top within a recess 30:in thehousing 20 formed by a horizontal wall 3| and a vertical wall 32 surrounding partially the outside of block 29. Gear 28, andwith it block 29, rests on a ball bearing 33 between bottom of gear 28 and top .of base plate. 34 is a drive 'shaft, supported within bearings 35 and 36 in the base, having a worm wheel 31 in mesh with gear 28.

Housing 20 is tapped for a' number of outlets 38 which are staggered around the outside of the housing as shown in Fig; 10. In the drawings, twenty outlets are shown but, of course, any desired number may be used. Pipes can be connected to the different outlets. Each outlet 38 communicates with a vertical recess 39 in wall 3| bywayof a duct 40. Recesses 39 are so disposed that they are within the periphery of block 29 and, preferably, equidistant from its center.

Each recess 39 containsv a non-return valve which comprises a bushing 4| having a central bore 42 and a-packing ring 43 around its outside forming a pressure tight joint between the vertical wall of recess 39-and the bushing. At the innerend orbottom of recess 39 is a spring plate 44 having a small central guide 45. A'spring is disposed between spring plate 44 and bushing 4| which urges the bottom of the bushing to contact with the top of rotating block 29. 41 is a cylindrical valve, preferably made of oil resisting rubber or similar material, adapted to close central bore of bushing 4|, and a spring '48 between spring guide 45 and the top of valve 41 urges valve 41 to its seat to close bore 42.

49 are fixed posts in the base of the housing 20.

These posts are evenly spaced. There are as many posts as there are outlets in the housing and they are disposed substantially parallel to the peripheral wall of block 29 and in spaced relation thereto.

Block 29 is provided with a, transverse cylindrical bore 50, closed at one end except for a narrow slot 5| substantially at right angles to bore 50. 52 and 52a'are two supports adjacent the closed end of bore 50 spaced apart the width of slot 5| and each having two semi-circular sockets 53 and 53a symmetrically spaced with respect to the longitudinal axis of bore 5|]. Held between thesupports 52 and 52a is an actuating cam 54 preferably of T shape, provided with pivot pins 55 and 5511 near each end of its cross bar. A central leg or extension 56 of the cam projects through slot 5| and is rounded at its end at 51. Pivot pin :55 fits within the socket 53 and serves as a fulcrum for cam 54 as will be explained later.

58 is an actuating piston adapted to be reciprocated within bore 50. 59 is a pin near one end of piston 58 and at right angles to its axis. 60 is a plunger of relatively small diameter adapted to reciprocate in a cylinder 6| parallel to'piston 58. One end of plunger 60 rests upon an extension 62 of pin 59 and'is held fixedly to the pin by a wire 63, so that plunger 69 and piston 58 operate in unison. Two springs 64 within cylinders 65 in piston 58 surround spring guides 66 forming part of a spring retainer 6! which is held within bore 50 by a snap ring 58. The springs'skserve to hold piston 58 in contact with cam' 54. Cylinder BI is provided with a vertical duct 69 which terminates within'thecentral part of housing 20 and serves as'an' oil inlet to the cylinder, as shown in Fig. 2.. Ducts H1 and N form a discharge portfrom cylinder 6| which terminates at the upper face of block 29 substantially in line with central bore 42 in bushing 4| within one of the recesses 39,.

' 12 are by -passes connecting adjacent outlets .38 in housing 25. Each by-pass has a transverse port 13 closed at the outside of the housing by a screw plug 14. 15 are cylindrical jplugs of, preferably, oil resisting rubber adapted normally to shut off by-passes 12 from communication with adjacent outlets 38. In Fig. 11 is shown a bypass 12 shutoff by plug 15, while Fig. 12 shows the by-pass open with the plugremoved for reasons explained later.

The operation .of the lubricator is as follows:

After filling the lubricator with oil through filling cover 23 which also fills the lower central portion of housing with oil after having been strained through a suitable screen shown in Fig. 2; the drive shaft 34 is rotated by any suitable means such as a motor or ratchet movement. Wo'rmwheel 3 meshes with gear 28 of block 29 and rotates the same.

In the position shown in Fig. 6, the endof piston 58, by virtue of springs 54, forces pivot'55 of the caminto sockets 53 of supports 52 and 52a and presses against the other end-of the cross bar of the T-shaped cam 54 Which in-turn forces the rounded end 51 of projecting leg 56 of the cam against one of the posts 49. The plunger '60 is at theend of its suction stroke, i. e. the cylinder 6| is filled with oil drawn in through inlet duct 6.9.

Continued rotation of drive shaft 34 causes block 29 to be rotated further in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 6. Assoon as the rounded end 51 of the cam 54 slips past post 49, pressure from springs 64 fulcrums the camabout pivot 55 which rests in sockets 53 of supports 52 and 52aand permits the leg '55 to snap into the space between'two adjacent posts 45. This position is shown in Fig. '7. The plunger 5i] has now completed its discharge stroke. During the discharge stroke, the plunger closes the inlet duct 59 and forces oil from the cylinder 5| through ducts Ti? and 1|, see Fig. 5, into bore 42 of bushing 4|, where the oil raises valve 4? against the pressure of spring 48 and is discharged by ay of duct 40 through outlet 38. It is to be noted that while the suction stroke of plunger 50 is relatively slow because it is caused by the travel of rounded end 57 of cam 54 around one side of post 59, the discharge stroke is relativelyfast because of the lack of resistance to the cam when its leg snaps into the space between two adjacent posts 49 forced there by the action of the springs 54, exerted against piston 53. This fast discharge stroke enables the plunger to operate without packing and against relatively high counter pressures.

Should the direction of the drive shaft 34 be reversed, the actuating cam 54 assumes the position shown in Fig. 8, i. e. pivot 55a rests in sockets 53a of supports 52 and 52a and theoperation will be exactly the same as explained in connection with Fig. 6 except the rotation will be in an opposite direction as indicated by an arrow. I

The loose anchoring of pivots 55 and 55a in sockets 55 and 53a, respectively, also serves to prevent binding between a' post 49 and leg 550i the cam 54 upon reversing, should the lubricator have come to a stop at a dead center. v

Inspection of the drawings shows that there is a discharge of oil or, in other words, a regis tering of outletducts lil and'li from cylinder .6! with bore d2 of'bushin'g l! in consecutive; order. This discharge is equal in volume being dependent upon a constant stroke of the plungei" 60. The entire discharge from cylinder 5 I passes from each outlet 38, the by-passes l2 being plugged as shown in Fig. 11. Should it be e essaryio in crease the discharge of oil from any of outlets I38, plugs 15 inadjacent by-pass'es need only be removed and outlets incommunication with'the by-passes, except one, be plugged,"thus forming a manifold. In this way the discharge'from'one of the outlets can be increased to twice, three times or more its volume, depending up'onhow many discharges are by passed or manifolded to one outlet. This enables the -manufacturer to provide a lubricator with 20 outlets,each having an equal volume of discharge-or, by by-passing outlets as explained before,"tosupply any lesser number of outlets with various selected volumes of discharge. It is obvious-of course, that the lubricator is not limited to twenty feeds as shown, but any desired larger or smaller number may be provided for with either constant or variable discharges. v

Attention is particularly'drawn to the cooperation between the non-return valves and the rotary block 29. The bushings 4| of the valves seat upon the upper face of theblock 29. Springs 45 hold the bushings in pressure tight relation with the face aided by the rotary motion of the block. The springs 45 alsotake up the slackbetween the block with its gear in the base of the housing. All this is independent of the functioning of the valve member 4! which is spring compressed upon the inner face of bushing 4|. Bushing 4| need not be fitted closely within recess 39 inasmuch as packing ring 43 makes a pressure tight joint therewith and, being loose, can .align itself readily to make a perfect seat with the top of block 29.

The springs 64 which hold the piston 58 in contact'with the cam 54 also act as an automatic relief should the pressure against which the lubricator is to feed oil be higher than the force of the springs. In such case the plunger EU will not be reciprocated by the piston 58 while the block 29 continues to rotate without, however, causing breakage of the operating mechanism. As soon as th'e pressure drops below the force of the springs, the lubricator will again begin to feed oil.

It is obviousthat the pumping mechanism disclosed may be used for many other purposes than that of forcing oil from a lubricator which is shown by way of example only.

It is also understood that various changes in the form, proportion,-and;minor;,details of conpended claims.

g What I claim as new, is: V

1.; In a'lubricator of theforce feed type having a; housing with a plurality of outlets, pumping mechanism within the housing comprising a block mounted for rotation in opposite directions, the block having a cylinder with a lubricant inlet and a' lubricant outlet,v a' plunger within thecylindenfixed posts within the housing surrounding the block, and meanstoreciprocate the plunger within the cylinder and bring the lubricant out let consecutively in register with one of the outlets in the housing as the block rotates and discharge a lubricant therethrough including a cam fulcrumed within the'block and operably connected with the plunger and in cooperation with the fixed posts imparting to the plunger a relatively slow suction stroke and means for effecting a relatively fast discharge stroke, the cam having two pivot pinsonly one of the pins being fulcrumed in the block when the block is rotated in one direction, and the other pin only when the block is rotated in an opposite direction.

2. :In a lubricator of the force feed type having a housing with a plurality of outlets, pumping mechanism comprising a block mounted for rotation in opposite directions, said block having a cylinder with a lubricant inlet and a lubricant outlet, the axis of the cylinder being in a plane substantially at right angles to the axis of rotation of the block, a plunger within the cylinder, fixed posts Within the housing surrounding the block, means to reciprocate the plunger within the cylinder to bring the lubricant outlet consecutively in register with one of the outlets in the housing as the block rotates and discharge a lubricanttherethrough including a piston in the block parallel to the plunger and connected thereto, a' cam fulcrumed in the block and having an extension projecting from the block and adjacent posts thereby efiecting a fast discharge stroke of the plunger.

3. In a structure as defined in claim 2, the cam having two pivot pins, only one of the pins being fulcrumed in the block when the block is rotated in one direction, and the other pin only when the block is rotated in an opposite direction. 4. In a lubricator Of the force feed type having a housing with a plurality of outlets, pumping mechanism comprising a block mounted for rotation in oppositedirections, said block having a cylinder with a lubricant inlet and a lubricant outlet, the axis of the cylinder being in a plane substantially at right angles to the axis of rotation of the block, a plunger within the cylinder, means to reciprocate the plunger within the cylinder to bring the lubricant outlet consecutively in register with one of the outlets in the housing as the block rotates and dischargea lubricant therethrough including round posts fixed in the housing around the block, a piston in the block parallel to the plunger and connected thereto, a cam fulcrumed in the block and having an extension projecting from the block, and means urging the piston toward the cam and the cam extension to slide along the side of one of the round posts as the block rotates effecting a relatively slow suction stroke of the plunger and during continued rotation of' the block causing the cam extension to snap into the space between the post and its immediately adjacent one effecting a relatively fast discharge stroke of the plunger.

5. Ina structure as defined in claim 4, the cam having two pivot pins, only one of which is fulcrumed in the block when the block is rotated in one direction, and the other only when the block is rotated in an opposite direction.

6. In a lubricator of the force feed type having a housing and a plurality of outlets, pumping mechanism comprising a rotatable block having a cylinder with a lubricant inlet and a lubricant outlet, a plunger within the cylinder, means to reciprocate the plunger and bring the lubricant outlet consecutively in register with one of the outlets in the housing as the block rotates and discharge a lubricant therethrough, and non-return valves for each outlet in'the housing, each of the valves being disposed within a recess in the housing in alignment with the circular path of the lubricant outlet in the block and comprising a tubular bushing, means urging one end of the bushing against the block forming a seat therewith, a valve member adapted to seat upon the other end of the bushing, and means urging the valve member against its seat.

'7. In a structure as defined in claim 6, the bushing of the non-return valve having packing around its outer diameter to make a pressure tight joint with the wall of the recess.

8. In a lubricator of the force feed type having a housing with a plurality of outlets, pumping mechanism comprising a rotatable block mounted for rotation in opposite directions, said block having a cylinder with a lubricant inlet and a lubricant outlet, a plunger within the cylinder, fixed posts within the housing surrounding the block. and means to reciprocate the plunger within the cylinder and bring the lubricant outlet consecutively in register with one of the outlets in the housing as the block rotates and discharge a lubricant therethrough including a cam fulcrumed within the block and operably connected with the plunger and in cooperation with the fixed posts imparting to the plunger a relatively slow suction stroke and means for effecting a relatively fast discharge stroke, the cam having two pivot pins, only one of the pins being fulcrumed in the block when the block is rotated in one direction, and the other pin only when the block is rotated in an opposite direction, and non-return valves for each outlet in the housing, each of the valves bein disposed within a recess in the housing in alignment with the circular path of the lubricant outlet in the block and comprising a tubular bushing, means urging one end of the bushing against the block forming a seat therewith, a valve member adapted to seat upon the other end of the bushing, and means urging the valve member against its seat.

.9. In a lubric'ator of the force feed'type having a housing with a plurality of outlets, pumping mechanism comprising a rotatable block mounted in rotation in opposite directions, said block having a cylinder with a lubricant inlet and a lubricant outlet, a plunger within the cylinder, fixed posts Within the housing surrounding the block, and means to reciprocate the plunger Within the cylinder and bring the lubricant outlet consecutively in register with one of the outlets in the housing as the block rotates and discharge a lubricant therethrough including a cam fulcrumed Within the block and operably connected with the plunger and in cooperation with the fixed posts imparting to the plunger a relatively slow suction stroke and means for effecting a relatively fast discharge stroke, the cam having two pivot pins, only one of the pins being fulcrumed in the block when the block is rotated in one direction, and the other pin only when the block is rotated in an opposite direction, non-return valves for each outlet in the housing, each of the valves being disposed within a recess in the housing in alignment with the circular path of the lubricant outlet in the block and comprising a tubular bushing, means urging 8 2 one end of the bushing against the block forming a seat therewith, a valve member adapted to seat. upon the other end of the bushing, and means urging the valve member against its seat, means to adjust the amounts of discharge from each of the outlets by diverting fixed amounts of lubricant from the pumping mechanism for more than one outlet into a manifold having one outlet, the -manifold being formed by passages in the housing connecting adjacent outlets.

CARL F. ERIKSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are .of record in the file of this patent:

I UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 584,033 Capitaine June 8, 1897 812,261 Dodge Feb. 13, 1906 812,266 Hill Feb. 13, 1906 2,027,171 Hillis Jan. 7, 1936 2,192,974 Jakobsen Mar. 12, 1940 2,420,970 Parker May 20, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 199,728 Great Britain Apr. 17, 1924 386,131 Great Britain Jan. 12, 1933 

